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03/12 23:28 CDT Clemson holds off furious 2nd half rally from No. 19 North
Carolina to win 80-79 in ACC Tournament
Clemson holds off furious 2nd half rally from No. 19 North Carolina to win
80-79 in ACC Tournament
By STEVE REED
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) --- Nick Davidson scored 17 points, and Clemson nearly
allowed an 18-point second-half lead to slip away before holding on to beat No.
19 North Carolina 80-79 on Thursday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference
Tournament quarterfinals.
Dillon Hunter had 14 points and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the
final minute for the Tigers (24-9), who had six players finish in double
figures in scoring.
Henri Veesaar had a mammoth game for the Tar Heels with 28 points and 17
rebounds, while Derek Dixon finished with 16 points including three late 3s to
help North Carolina (24-8) climb back into the game.
The Tigers seemed ready to cruise into the semifinals after building an
18-point lead with 11:36 left before the Tar Heels came storming back to cut
the lead to 78-76 with 13 seconds left behind a barrage of 3-pointers from
Veesaar and Dixon.
Hunter made two free throws with 11.1 seconds left to make it a two-possession
game before Dixon added yet another 3 with 3 seconds left.
The Tar Heels fouled Davidson, who missed both free throws with 2.4 seconds.
North Carolina's Jarin Stevenson's grabbed the rebound, but with the Tar Heels
out of timeouts he was forced to heave the ball from three-quarters court and
it fell well short.
Clemson shot 9 of 19 from beyond the 3-point line with Davidson a perfect
4-for-4.
The Tar Heels struggled to hit shots all night until the 3s started falling
late. Dixon made three 3s and Veesaar two in the final 2:28.
Clemson announced before the game that forward Carter Welling suffered a torn
ACL in his right knee in Wednesday's second-round win against Wake Forest when
he collapsed to the court.
Up next Clemson: Moves on to Friday night's semifinals against No. 1 Duke, which beat Florida State 80-79 after the Seminoles missed a 3-pointer to win it at the buzzer. North Carolina: Will await NCAA Tournament seeding. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball |
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